At first sight, the very existence of a Hindu castecalled Jugi may be surprising. The term jugi is a vernacular form ofthe Sanskrit word yogī, and as every student of Indianreligious history knows, yogīs are supposed to becelibate ascetics who do not lead a regular familylife; thus, they do not form a caste. Indeed,classical Sanskrit literature of various genresoffers a clear-cut distinction between a marriedhouseholder (gr̥hastha) on one hand and an asceticrenouncer (saṃnyāsī,yogī, sādhu, etc.) on the other.According to Patanjali, the greatest authority onyoga in ancient India, an ascetic life, includingstrict celibacy, is a prerequisite for yogapractice. This traditional view of a yogī wasreinforced in the twentieth century, when modernIndian yoga gurus highlighted the importance ofascetic values for success in the practice of yoga.In fact, they even gained their authority from thefact that they – contrary to their non-celibatestudents – fulfilled the classical ideal of anascetic yogī. Thus, today even Westerners know thata genuine yogī should be an ascetic.

How, then, can a caste of Yogīs exist? The answer liesin the nature of the sources that present thehouseholder and the ascetic as opposites. TheseSanskrit texts are normative works prescribing theideal form of society and religious life. Reality,however, has always – quite naturally – differedfrom the prescribed norms.